Ranchi/New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Jharkhand High Court ruling that quashed an FIR against 28 BJP leaders, including BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, former Jharkhand Chief Ministers Babulal Marandi and Raghubar Das, former Union Minister Arjun Munda, and BJP MP Sanjay Seth. The FIR was lodged in connection with the Jharkhand Secretariat siege case in April 2023.

The Jharkhand government filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the High Court's decision, but the Supreme Court dismissed it. Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuiyan criticized the frequent use of Section 144 CrPC to curb protests.

"It has become a common trend to invoke Section 144 whenever a protest takes place. This sends a wrong message. If someone wants to protest, what is the need to impose Section 144? This constitutes a misuse of the provision,” the court remarked.

The FIR stemmed from a protest organized by the BJP on April 11, 2023, against the ruling Hemant Soren-led government. The police anticipated the protest and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in the Jharkhand Secretariat area. When the protestors arrived, the police used water cannons, tear gas, and lathi charges to disperse them. Ranchi's Dhurva Chowk became a battlefield for over two hours, resulting in over 60 injuries.

The FIR, filed by Upendra Kumar, Executive Magistrate of the Ranchi District Administration, accused BJP leaders and unnamed activists of rioting, incitement, obstruction, violation, and harm. The FIR stated that the accused provoked the crowd, tore down barricades, threw stones and bottles at police, injuring SDO Deepak Kumar Dubey, Dhurva SHO Vimal Nandan Sinha, Constables, and journalists. The FIR named 41 individuals, including prominent BJP figures like Arjun Munda, Sanjay Seth, Nishikant Dubey, Samir Oraon, Sunil Kumar Singh, former Chief Minister Raghubar Das, and MLAs Babulal Marandi and Viranchi Narayan Singh.

After the FIR, 28 accused petitioned the High Court to cancel it. The High Court quashed the FIR on August 14, 2024, which the Jharkhand government challenged in the Supreme Court.